JP4827491B2 - Endoscope light source device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an endoscope light source device that causes excitation light for fluorescence excitation to enter a light guide in an endoscope.

  A living tissue is excited to emit fluorescence when irradiated with light of a specific wavelength. In addition, an abnormal living tissue in which a lesion such as a tumor or cancer has occurred emits weaker fluorescence than a normal living tissue. This reaction phenomenon can also be caused by living tissue below the body cavity wall. In recent years, endoscope systems have been developed that detect abnormalities occurring in a living tissue under a body cavity wall using this reaction phenomenon.

  As one of this type of endoscope system, the inside of a body cavity is illuminated by emitting illumination light in the visible band from the distal end of the endoscope, and an image of the reflected light of the illumination light on the inner wall surface of the body cavity is captured by an imaging device. In addition to the normal observation mode for imaging, light of a specific wavelength band that excites the living tissue is emitted from the tip of the endoscope, and an image of fluorescence emitted from the living tissue under the inner wall of the body cavity excited by this light is captured There is a fluorescence endoscope system that operates in a fluorescence observation mode in which an image is captured by the apparatus.

  A light source device used in such a fluorescence endoscope system includes a visible light source and an excitation light source therein, and an optical path of illumination light emitted from the visible light source and excitation light emitted from the excitation light source. An optical path combining element such as a dichroic mirror that combines the optical paths is provided. The light source device emits the illumination light emitted from the visible light source in the normal observation mode and the excitation light emitted from the excitation light source in the fluorescence observation mode to the light guide guide fiber bundle of the connected endoscope. Make it incident.

  Conventionally, mercury lamps and xenon lamps have been used as the light source for the excitation light. However, mercury lamps become hazardous waste when discarded and cannot be turned on and off instantly, so they can be switched quickly with illumination light. However, the visible light emitted from the xenon lamp cannot sufficiently excite living tissue, and a photomultiplier tube must be used to capture a slight amount of fluorescence, which complicates the imaging apparatus.

  Therefore, a recent endoscope light source device uses, for example, an ultraviolet light emitting semiconductor laser as an excitation light source, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. By using such a semiconductor laser, it is possible to instantaneously switch on and off, and to generate fluorescence with sufficient intensity.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-028125

  However, when a laser light source is used as the excitation light source, when the power source of the light source device is turned on and the laser light source is turned on by cold boot, a certain amount of preparation time (3 for the semiconductor laser) is required until the laser light is stably output. Conventionally, the user has to press the lighting button several times until the laser light is stably output, and there is a problem that the operation is complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and even when a laser light source is used as the excitation light source, the excitation light is stabilized without pressing the lighting button many times after the power is turned on. It is an object (problem) to provide an endoscope light source device that can be output in the same manner.

  The light source device for an endoscope of the present invention devised to solve the above-described problem causes a light guide passed through an insertion part of a body cavity of an endoscope to excite a living tissue to generate fluorescence. An excitation laser light source that emits excitation light in a configuration that supplies excitation light; and a monitor sensor that monitors the output of the excitation laser light source and outputs a lightable signal when the excitation laser light source can be stably lit Display means for displaying whether or not the excitation laser light source can be turned on immediately, a shutter mechanism for opening and closing the optical path of the excitation light, and an optical system for causing the excitation light that has passed through the shutter mechanism to enter the base end of the light guide; And a control means for controlling the excitation laser light source. The control means controls the excitation laser light source between the time when the laser irradiation is permitted and the time when the lighting enable signal is output from the monitor sensor. It is turned on experimentally, and the optical path of the excitation light is closed by controlling the shutter mechanism, and when a signal that can be turned on is output from the monitor sensor, the shutter mechanism is controlled to open the optical path of the excitation light and display Control means to display that the excitation laser light source can be turned on immediately, and when the excitation light lighting signal is input, the excitation laser light source is turned on and the excitation light is incident on the light guide. To do.

  In addition, the above control means controls the display means to display that the excitation laser light source is ready for lighting after the laser irradiation is permitted and before the lighting signal is output from the monitor sensor. It is desirable to make it.

  According to the endoscope light source device of the present invention, after the power is turned on, the test laser light source for excitation is automatically executed, and when it can be turned on immediately, that effect is displayed on the display means. The user can know that the excitation laser light source can be used without pressing the lighting button many times. Further, since the shutter is closed during the trial shooting period, it is possible to prevent the laser light from being accidentally emitted outside.

  Next, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described based on the attached drawings. FIG. 1 is an external view of a fluorescence endoscope system to which an endoscope light source device according to the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the fluorescence endoscope system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the fluorescence endoscope system includes a fluorescence observation endoscope 10, a light source processor device 20 including functions of an endoscope light source device, and a monitor 60.

  The fluorescence observation endoscope 10 is obtained by adding a modification for fluorescence observation to a normal electronic endoscope. The fluorescence observation endoscope 10 is formed in an elongated shape so as to be inserted into a body cavity, and is provided with a bending portion that can be bent at a distal end. A light guide flexible tube 10c for connecting the operation unit 10b and the light source device 20 and the light guide flexible member 10a, an operation unit 10b having an angle knob for operating the bending portion of the insertion unit 10a, and the like. A connector 10d provided at the proximal end of the tube 10c is provided.

  On the front surface of the light source processor device 20, there are provided a laser irradiation cancel switch 22 provided for safety measures and an operation panel 23 so that a laser used for excitation light is not emitted carelessly. Details of the operation panel 23 will be described later.

  Hereinafter, detailed configurations of the fluorescence observation endoscope 10 and the light source processor device 20 of the embodiment will be described in order according to FIG. A light distribution lens 11 and an objective lens 12 are provided on the distal end surface of the insertion portion 10 a of the fluorescence observation endoscope 10. Inside the distal end of the insertion portion 10a, an image sensor 13 that can capture a color image, such as a CCD color image sensor that captures an image of a subject formed by the objective lens 12, and an image sensor that is emitted from the objective lens 12 An excitation light cut filter 14 for removing a wavelength component corresponding to fluorescence excitation laser light described later from the light returning to 13 and a cable driver 15 for amplifying an image signal output from the image sensor 13 are incorporated.

  The excitation light cut filter 14 has a characteristic of blocking the excitation light and transmitting light having a wavelength longer than that of the excitation light, thereby preventing the excitation light from entering the image pickup device 13 during fluorescence imaging, It is possible to capture only fluorescence. As the excitation light, light in the near ultraviolet wavelength range that excites the living body to generate autofluorescence is selected, and even if the excitation light component is cut by the excitation light cut filter 14, a normal color image is taken. There is no problem in capturing the blue component.

  An image signal cable 18 for transmitting an image signal driven by the cable driver 15 is passed through the insertion portion 10a, the operation portion 10b, and the light guide flexible tube 10c, and is connected to the fluorescence observation endoscope 10. The light source processor device 20 is connected to a circuit described later.

  In parallel with the signal cable 18, a drive signal is supplied to the light guide 16 configured by bundling a plurality of optical fibers and the image sensor 13 in the insertion portion 10 a, the operation portion 10 b, and the light guide flexible tube 10 c. The drive signal cable 19 is passed through. The distal end of the light guide 16 faces the light distribution lens 11 in the distal end portion of the insertion portion 10a, and the proximal end thereof is fixed in a state of being inserted into the light source processor device 20.

  The light source processor device 20 has white light for observing the inside of the body cavity on the end surface of the proximal end of the light guide 16 of the fluorescence observation endoscope 10 and excitation for exciting the living tissue on the wall of the body cavity to emit autofluorescence. A light source block 20 a that selectively enters light and an image processing block 20 b that processes an image signal received from the cable driver 15 of the fluorescence observation endoscope 10 to generate a video signal and outputs the image signal to the monitor 60. Has been.

  The optical system provided in the light source block 20a of the light source processor device 20 includes a white light source 30 that emits substantially parallel visible light (white light), and a dimming diaphragm that adjusts the beam diameter of the white light emitted from the white light source 30. 31 and a condensing lens 32 that condenses the white light transmitted through the dimming diaphragm 31 and makes it incident on the end face of the proximal end of the light guide 16, and an excitation laser light source 33 that emits substantially parallel excitation light. And a dichroic mirror 36 for combining the optical path of the excitation light emitted from the excitation laser light source 33 and the optical path of the white light. Although not shown, the white light source 30 includes a lamp and a reflector, and the excitation laser light source 33 includes a semiconductor laser that emits divergent light and a collimator lens that converts the divergent light into parallel light. .

  The dimming diaphragm 31 is driven by a diaphragm motor 31a and has a function of adjusting the amount of white light. The optical path from the white light source 30 to the light guide 16 is linear, and the optical path of the excitation light that intersects the optical path perpendicularly is synthesized by the dichroic mirror 36 that is an optical path synthesis element. The dichroic mirror 36 is disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the optical axis of the condenser lens 32, transmits visible light, reflects light in the near-ultraviolet wavelength region, and is reflected by these transmitted white light. Near ultraviolet light as excitation light is guided to a single optical path toward the end face of the base end of the light guide 16. The dichroic mirror 36 and the condenser lens 32 correspond to an optical system that makes excitation light incident on the proximal end of the light guide 16 of the endoscope.

  Between the white light source 30 and the dichroic mirror 36, a rotary shutter 37 for intermittently turning on / off (transmitting / blocking) white light is disposed. The rotary shutter 37 is a disc in which a fan-shaped window 37a having a central angle of about 180 ° is formed, as shown in a plan view in FIG. 3, and is orthogonal to the optical axis of the condenser lens 32 and offset. Thus, it is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft of the shutter motor 38. The size of the window 37a is set larger than the diameter of the white light, and the white light is turned on / off and transmitted intermittently by driving the shutter motor 38 and rotating the rotary shutter 37.

  An excitation light shutter 34 that opens and closes the optical path of the excitation light is disposed between the excitation laser light source 33 and the dichroic mirror 36. The excitation light shutter 34 is driven by a solenoid 34a and blocks the optical path of the excitation light so that laser light is not inadvertently emitted when the light source processor device 20 performs a trial as will be described later. The shutter 34 for excitation light and the solenoid 34a have a function of a shutter mechanism that opens and closes the optical path of the excitation light.

  Furthermore, the light source block 20a of the light source processor device 20 includes a monitor sensor 35 that monitors the output of the excitation laser light source 33 and outputs a status signal, a lamp power source 51 that supplies a current to the white light source 30, and the above-described A first motor driver 53 that drives the aperture motor 31a and a second motor driver 54 that drives the shutter motor 38 are provided. The monitor sensor 35 outputs a lighting enable signal as a status signal when the excitation laser light source 33 can be stably turned on, and outputs a lighting impossible signal in other cases.

  On the other hand, in the image processing block 20b of the light source processor device 20, the excitation laser light source 33 is driven to be turned on / off, and the solenoid 34a is driven based on the status signal output from the monitor sensor 35 for excitation light. An excitation light source drive control circuit 52 that opens and closes the shutter 34 and an image sensor control drive circuit 56 that drives the image sensor 13 are provided. As an image signal processing system, a pre-stage signal processing circuit 57 that processes the image signal received from the cable driver 15 and an RGB memory that temporarily stores the digital image signal processed and output by the pre-stage signal processing circuit 57 58, a post-stage signal processing circuit 59 for converting the digital image signal read out from the RGB memory 58 into a standardized video signal for display on a monitor and outputting it, and a system controller 70 for controlling the whole A timing controller 71 is provided.

  The system controller 70 is electrically connected to various switches and a display unit arranged on the operation panel 23, and controls the lamp power supply 51 and the laser driver 52 based on the settings of these switches to control white light, The excitation light is continuously turned on or stopped, and the display on the monitor 60 is switched.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation panel 23 includes various operation switches and various display units that indicate the state of the light source processor device 20. The parts related to the present invention include a laser lighting button 23a indicated by a symbol FL, a laser state display portion 23b indicated by a symbol “READY”, and a laser output display portion 23c indicated by a symbol “ON”. It is included. The laser state display unit 23b has a function as display means for displaying whether or not the excitation laser light source can be turned on immediately, and the excitation laser light source 33 can be turned on immediately according to a signal from the system controller 70. Lights up when the laser light source is in the preparatory stage, and turns off when the device is turned off. The laser output display unit 23c is turned on when the excitation laser light source 33 is turned on and the excitation light is incident on the light guide 16 according to a signal from the system controller 70, and is turned off in other cases.

  The timing controller 71 controls the laser driver 52 based on a command from the system controller 70 to intermittently turn on / off the excitation light at a predetermined timing, and also drives a second motor driver 54 that drives the shutter motor 38. To turn on / off the white light intermittently at a predetermined timing. The timing controller 71 controls the imaging timing of the imaging device 13 via the imaging device control drive circuit 56, and controls the writing and reading of data to and from the RGB memory 58 (address / data control) in synchronization therewith. The image signal processing timing is instructed to the subsequent signal processing circuit 59.

  In the configuration of the embodiment, the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 has a function as control means for controlling the excitation laser light source 33. That is, the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 switches the excitation laser light source 33 between the time when the laser irradiation cancellation switch 22 is turned on and the laser irradiation is permitted and before the monitor sensor 35 outputs a lighting enable signal. The light is intermittently turned on experimentally, and the solenoid 34a is controlled to close the excitation light shutter 34 to close the optical path of the excitation light. When the monitor sensor 35 outputs a lighting enable signal, the solenoid 34a is controlled. The excitation light shutter 34 is opened to open the optical path of the excitation light.

  Further, the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 passes through the system controller 70 after the laser irradiation cancellation switch 22 is turned on and the laser irradiation is permitted until the monitor sensor 35 outputs a lighting enable signal. When the laser light display unit 23b on the operation panel 23 blinks to indicate that the excitation light laser light source 33 is ready to be turned on, and when a monitor ready signal is output from the monitor sensor 35, the system controller 70 The laser state display unit 23b on the operation panel 23 is turned on to display that the excitation laser light source 33 can be turned on immediately.

  Further, when the excitation light lighting signal is input from the system controller 70 and the timing controller 71, the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 turns on the excitation laser light source 33 and causes the excitation light to enter the light guide. The laser output display unit 23 c on the operation panel 23 is turned on via 70.

  In the above fluorescence endoscope system, by setting the button on the operation panel 23, the normal observation mode for observing the body cavity wall with a color image, the fluorescence observation mode for observing the fluorescence image of the body cavity wall, the color image and the fluorescence image The observation mode can be switched to any one of the special observation mode for observing the special observation image obtained based on the above.

  In the normal observation mode, the system controller 70 controls the second motor driver 54 via the timing controller 71, sets the window 37a of the rotary shutter 37 to overlap the optical path of white light, and passes through the lamp power supply 51. The white light source 30 is turned on. The white light passes through the window 37 a of the rotary shutter 37, passes through the dichroic mirror 36, is collected by the condenser lens 32, and enters the light guide 16. The white light transmitted by the light guide 16 illuminates the body cavity via the light distribution lens 11. Therefore, a color image of the body cavity wall is formed on the image sensor 13 via the objective lens 12.

  The image sensor control drive circuit 56 drives the image sensor 13 in synchronization with the timing signal output from the timing controller 71. Image signals from the image sensor 13 are sequentially stored in the RGB memory 58 via the front-stage signal processing circuit 57 and processed by the rear-stage signal processing circuit 59 to display a color image of the body cavity wall on the monitor 60.

  In the fluorescence observation mode, the system controller 70 turns off the white light source 30 via the lamp power source 51 and opens the excitation light shutter 34 via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 under a predetermined condition described later. Then, the excitation laser light source 33 is turned on. The excitation light is reflected by the dichroic mirror 36 and enters the light guide 16 via the condenser lens 32. The excitation light transmitted by the light guide 16 irradiates the body cavity wall through the light distribution lens 11 to excite the living tissue and generate fluorescence. Therefore, a fluorescent image of the body cavity wall is formed on the image sensor 13 via the objective lens 12.

  The image sensor control drive circuit 56 drives the image sensor 13 in synchronization with the timing signal output from the timing controller 71. Image signals from the image sensor 13 are sequentially stored in the RGB memory 58 via the front-stage signal processing circuit 57 and processed by the rear-stage signal processing circuit 59 to display a fluorescent image of the body cavity wall on the monitor 60.

  On the other hand, in the special observation mode, the system controller 70 controls the second motor driver 54 via the timing controller 71, rotates the rotary shutter 37, and turns on the white light source 30 via the lamp power supply 51. The white light is transmitted only when the window 37a of the rotary shutter 37 is located in the optical path, passes through the dichroic mirror 36, is collected by the condenser lens 32, and is incident on the light guide 16 intermittently. Then, the system controller 70 opens the excitation light shutter 34 via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 under a predetermined condition described later, and the white light is rotated in synchronization with the timing signal from the timing controller 71. The excitation laser light source 33 is turned on only during the period obstructed by 37. The excitation light is reflected by the dichroic mirror 36 and intermittently enters the light guide 16 via the condenser lens 32. That is, white light and excitation light are alternately and repeatedly incident on the light guide 16, and the body cavity wall is alternately irradiated with white light and excitation light. For this reason, a color image and a fluorescence image of the body cavity wall are alternately formed on the image sensor 13 via the objective lens 12.

  The image sensor control drive circuit 56 drives the image sensor 13 in synchronization with the timing signal output from the timing controller 71, and the pre-stage signal processing circuit 57 obtains the color image signal acquired during the period illuminated with white light. And the fluorescence image signals acquired during the excitation light irradiation period are alternately received and sequentially stored in the RGB memory 58. The post-stage signal processing circuit 59 compares the color image signal and the fluorescence image signal each time a set of color image signal and fluorescence image signal is acquired, and the ratio of the luminance of the fluorescence image signal to the luminance of the color image signal is determined. A pixel lower than a certain value is specified as a lesion, and an affected part image signal for displaying these pixels in red, for example, is generated. Then, the post-stage signal processing circuit 59 sequentially generates special observation image data for displaying the lesion part in red on the image in the body cavity illuminated with visible light by combining the affected part image signal with the color image signal. Output to the monitor 60. Based on the input special observation image data, the monitor 60 displays a special observation image in which the lesion is displayed in red on the image in the body cavity.

  Next, the processing of the system controller 70 relating to the control of the excitation laser light source 33 of the electronic endoscope system configured as described above will be described based on the flowcharts of FIGS. Here, for ease of explanation, processing based on the above-described fluorescence observation mode will be described.

  When the main switch (not shown) of the light source processor device 20 is turned on and the power is turned on, the main process (not shown) of the system controller 70 is started, and the initialization process of the system controller shown in FIG. . Further, the periodic timer interruption process shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly interrupted and executed at a predetermined timing.

  In the initialization process of the system controller, the system controller 70 first clears READY-FLAG indicating the state of the excitation laser light source 33 to 0 (S001). This flag is set to 1 when the excitation-light laser light source 33 can be turned on immediately, and is set to 0 in other cases.

  Subsequently, the system controller 70 controls the solenoid 34a via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 to close the excitation light shutter 34 (S002), and the electronic endoscope 10 is connected to the light source processor device 20 in S003. Detect whether or not. When the electronic endoscope 10 is inserted into a socket (not shown) and an electrical connector (not shown) is connected to an electrical socket (not shown), the system controller 70 is connected to an electrical state (impedance, potential, etc.) of the electrical socket. ) To detect that the endoscope is connected.

  When it is determined that the electronic endoscope 10 is connected (S003, Y), the system controller 70 detects an abnormality of the excitation laser light source 33 (S005). Here, a temperature abnormality or current abnormality of the laser light source 33 is checked, and if an abnormality is detected, the initialization process of FIG. 5 is skipped and an error process (not shown) is executed.

  If there is no abnormality in the excitation laser light source 33, the system controller 70 executes a laser irradiation cancellation switch detection process shown in FIG. 7 (S006). This process will be described later.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the electronic endoscope 10 is not connected to the light source processor device 20 (S003, N), the system controller 70 clears READY-FLAG to 0 (S007), and the excitation laser If the light source 33 is turned on, the light source 33 is turned off (S008), the solenoid 34a is controlled via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52, and the excitation light shutter 34 is closed (S009). Both the output display parts 23c are turned off (S010), and the process returns to the main process (not shown).

  When the periodic timer interrupt process shown in FIG. 6 is executed, the system controller 70 increments the task counter N (S101), and checks the value of the task counter N in S102 and S104. When the task counter N is 1 (S102, Y), the system controller 70 executes operation panel task processing (S103), and returns to the main processing (not shown). If the task counter N is 2 (S104, Y), the system controller 70 executes the endoscope I / F (interface) process shown in FIG. 8 (S105), and sets the task counter N to 0. Reset (S106) and return to the main process (not shown).

  When the laser irradiation cancellation switch detection process is executed in S006 of FIG. 5, the system controller 70 first turns on the laser irradiation cancellation switch 22 via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not (S201). In order for the excitation laser light source 33 to be lit, it is assumed that this switch is on. When the laser irradiation cancellation switch 22 is on (S201, Y), the system controller 70 determines whether or not the excitation laser light source 33 is lit (S202). In preparation for lighting, the laser state display unit 23b is blinked, the laser output display unit 23c is turned off (S203), and the excitation laser light source 33 is tested through the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 (S204). The test firing is performed by passing a current through the excitation laser light source 33 for a short time. At the time of the trial shooting, the excitation light shutter 34 is in a closed state, so that the excitation light is not irradiated to the outside from the distal end portion of the endoscope.

  The excitation light source drive control circuit 52 repeats the test firing and stabilizes until the excitation laser light source 33 is stably lit and a lighting enable signal is output from the monitor sensor 35 (until the determination of S202 becomes Y). If the system controller 70 is ready to light (S202, Y), the system controller 70 determines that the preparation for lighting has been completed, sets READY-FLAG to 1 (S205), and turns off the excitation laser light source 33 (S206). ), The laser state display unit 23b is turned on, the laser output display unit 23c is turned off (S207), the solenoid 34a is controlled via the excitation light source drive control circuit 52, and the excitation light shutter 34 is opened (S208). Then, the process returns to S003 of FIG.

  When the laser irradiation release switch 22 is off (S201, N), the system controller 70 clears READY-FLAG to 0 (S209), turns off the excitation laser light source 33 (S210), and the laser state The display unit 23b and the laser output display unit 23c are both turned off (S211), the solenoid 34a is controlled to close the excitation light shutter 34 (S212), and the process returns to the initialization process of the system controller in FIG.

  When the endoscope I / F process is executed in S105 of FIG. 6, the system controller 70 determines whether or not the button of the operation panel 23 is operated as shown in FIG. 8 (S301). If there is no button operation, the process returns to the periodic timer interrupt process of FIG. When there is a button operation on the operation panel (S301, Y), it is determined whether or not the operation is the laser lighting button 23a (S202). Return processing.

If the operated button is the laser lighting button 23a (S302, Y), it is next determined whether or not the excitation laser light source 33 is being lit (S303). If not lit (S303, N), the system controller 70 determines whether the value of READY-FLAG is 1 (S304), and if it is 1, turns on the excitation laser light source 33 (S305). Then, the process returns to the periodic timer interrupt process of FIG.
If the excitation laser light source 33 is lit when the laser lighting button 23a is operated (S303, Y), the system controller 70 turns off the excitation laser light source 33 (S306), and the periodic timer interrupt process of FIG. Return processing to.

  That is, in the above processing, the excitation light is emitted when the electronic endoscope 10 is connected to the light source processor device 20, the laser irradiation release switch 22 is turned on, and the excitation laser light source 33 is ready to emit light. When the excitation shutter lighting signal is input in this state, the excitation laser light source 33 is turned on, the excitation light is incident on the light guide 16, and the distal end passes through the insertion portion 10a of the electronic endoscope. The body cavity wall facing the part is irradiated.

  The user looks at the laser status display portion 23b of the operation panel 23, so that the laser light source cannot be turned on when it is turned off, is being prepared if it is blinking, and immediately if it is turned on. It is possible to know that the lighting is possible, and it is possible to avoid complication of operation without pressing the lighting button many times in the preparation stage.

  In the example of FIG. 8, since the fluorescence observation mode is assumed, the excitation light is turned on when READY-FLAG is set to 1 and the laser lighting button 23a is turned on while the excitation laser light source 33 is turned off. A signal is generated. In the special observation mode, based on the timing signal output from the timing controller 71, the excitation light source drive control circuit 52 generates the excitation light lighting signal during a period in which white light is blocked by the rotary shutter 37.

  In the above-described embodiment, the laser lighting button is provided on the operation panel of the light source processor device 20, but it can also be provided on the operation unit 10 b of the electronic endoscope 10. Further, instead of providing the laser state display unit on the operation panel 23, or in addition thereto, it may be displayed on a part of the monitor 60 that it is ready or can be turned on immediately.

1 is an external view showing an external appearance of a fluorescence endoscope system to which an endoscope light source device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the internal structure of the fluorescence endoscope system of FIG. It is a top view of the rotary shutter arrange | positioned at the light source processor apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of the operation panel provided in the light source processor apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the initialization process of the system controller in the light source processor apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the period timer interruption process of the system controller in the light source processor apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the laser irradiation cancellation | release switch detection process of the system controller in the light source processor apparatus of FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing endoscope I / F task processing in the light source processor device of FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fluorescence observation endoscope 16 Light guide for excitation light 20 Light source processor apparatus 22 Laser irradiation cancellation switch 23 Operation panel 23a Laser lighting button 23b Laser state display part 23c Laser output display part 30 White light source 32 Condensing lens 33 Excitation laser light source 34 Excitation light shutter 34a Solenoid 35 Monitor sensor 36 Dichroic mirror 37 Rotary shutter 52 Excitation light source drive control circuit 56 Image sensor control drive circuit 57 Pre-stage signal processing circuit 58 RGB memory 59 Post-stage signal processing circuit 60 Monitor 70 System controller 71 Timing controller

Claims (2)

In an endoscope light source device that supplies excitation light that excites a living tissue and generates fluorescence to a light guide that is passed through an insertion part in a body cavity of an endoscope.
An excitation laser light source for emitting the excitation light;
A monitor sensor that monitors the output of the laser light source for excitation and outputs a lightable signal when the laser light source for excitation can be stably lit;
Display means for displaying whether or not the excitation laser light source can be turned on immediately;
A shutter mechanism for opening and closing the optical path of the excitation light;
An optical system for causing the excitation light that has passed through the shutter mechanism to enter the base end of the light guide;
Control means for controlling the laser light source for excitation,
The control means intermittently lights the excitation laser light source on a trial basis after the laser irradiation is permitted and before the lighting enable signal is output from the monitor sensor, and the shutter mechanism When the control signal closes the optical path of the excitation light and the monitor sensor outputs the lighting enable signal, the shutter mechanism is controlled to open the optical path of the excitation light, and the display means is controlled to control the excitation. An endoscope characterized by displaying that the laser light source can be immediately turned on, and turning on the excitation laser light source and causing the excitation light to enter the light guide when an excitation light lighting signal is input Light source processor device.   The control means indicates that the laser light source for excitation is in preparation for lighting by controlling the display means between the time when the laser irradiation is permitted and the time when the lighting enable signal is output from the monitor sensor. The endoscope light source device according to claim 1, wherein the endoscope light source device is displayed.